Chapter Thirty-Five

The same night that Rebecca and her friends opened the tomb she got a call from Elena around midnight. Elena was at Bonnie's and Rebecca had a spark of premonition. Something was wrong; Elena wouldn't have been calling so late if everything was fine.

Before Rebecca could ask what was wrong she heard, "She's not breathing!" in the background. It was Bonnie's voice and she was screaming.

"Elena?" Rebecca said. "What's going on?"

"It's Bonnie's Grams. She came home and went to bed and now she's not breathing. I called the cops a minute ago but I thought you should know."

"Well, wh -what do you want me to do?" Rebecca didn't wait for an answer. "I'm . . . I'm gonna come over there."

"Okay, but . . . it's bad. Bonnie's trying to bring her back with magic."

"Uh . . . well, I'll be there in a minute."

Rebecca hung up. She didn't bother getting dressed - she was in her pajamas. She just grabbed a thick jacket and slipped her shoes on. She was sort of caught in a state of disbelief; Grams had been fine earlier, she'd said she was fine so this couldn't be happening.

And . . . Grams had said the necklace, the channeling, had helped. This was just a bad dream and she'd wake up in the morning and everything would be fine.

Then Rebecca remembered. Grams' exact words were that the necklace had helped Bonnie - she hadn't mentioned herself.

By the time Rebecca got to Sheila's house an ambulance was parked outside and Bonnie and Elena were outside in the front yard. Elena was holding a sobbing Bonnie, and Rebecca cautiously stepped up to them. She didn't know if Bonnie would want her there. Rebecca had been the one to plan on helping Anna in the first place; Bonnie might blame her.

"Bonnie . . . I'm sorry, I thought she was gonna be okay."

Bonnie lifted her head off of Elena's shoulder. "She knew . . . I think she knew she was gonna die. She wanted to be left alone and then . . ."

"Bonnie went to check on her and she wasn't breathing," Elena said softly.

"What can I do?" Rebecca asked. "What about your dad?"

"He's on his way," Elena said. "I called him."

Rebecca knew that Mr. Bennett didn't like that Bonnie was a witch; he didn't hate her for it, he just didn't want to talk about it. But he had to come for Bonnie now.

Rebecca stayed with Bonnie and Elena until Mr. Bennett came to pick Bonnie up. Rebecca knew Bonnie and her dad would have to go to the hospital some time and Rebecca offered to go with her if she wanted. Both Elena and Rebecca knew what it was like, losing a relative, and they promised to be there for whatever Bonnie would need them for.

The next day Bonnie didn't call but Rebecca checked in on her anyway. Rebecca felt really guilty even though there was nothing more she could've done. She'd wanted them to do the spell so Damon could get out. No, she hadn't wanted Stefan or Anna or even Pearl stuck in the tomb, but it had been mostly for Damon. Grams had told her that if they used more energy than they had then they would die. And Grams had intentionally filtered the energy from Rebecca's necklace into Bonnie instead of herself. She'd known that Rebecca wouldn't have been able to take both of them channeling energy from her so she hadn't let it happen.

Then she called to check in on Jeremy, who was still sleeping, and Elena said he had woken up feeling like he had a massive hangover, so he'd decided to go back to sleep. Other than that he was fine.

"So, Jenna did some digging about the adoption," Elena started hesitantly. "Dad kept everything from his medical practice. Records, logs and appointment books. She found an entry from the night I was born. Patient and a birth date."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and I know I shouldn't even be bringing this up with Bonnie's Grams and all but I had to tell someone and I can't bother her with this."

"I get that."

"Okay, well, Isobel Peterson was the name she used. We looked her up and her real name was Isobel Flemming; she got the last name from her best friend Trudie Peterson, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."

"That's not far from here."

"That's what I said," Elena commented. "Anyway, they were both cheerleaders, and Trudie still lived there in Grove Hill. I was thinking maybe I'd go see her but . . . I'm not really sure I want to."

"Why not? I thought you wanted to know more about your birth parents."

"I did, I do . . . but Mr. Saltzman's wife was named Isobel, and she was from around here. Was as in . . . she died."

"Oh." Rebecca couldn't think of anything to say other than that. Sorry didn't seem to be the right sentiment because Elena hadn't even known the woman. "His wife might have been your mother?"

"It can't be true, right? I mean, the coincidence alone is just crazy."

"Yeah, crazy. But . . . what if she is? I'm not saying she is, but what if . . ."

She heard Elena sigh on the other end. "I don't know. If they are the same person then that means my birth mother is dead, and I don't know if I could handle that."

Meanwhile, at the boardinghouse, Damon was just about to go out for a bite to eat - he couldn't drink from blood bags for the rest of his existence; they kept him healthy but fresh was always better - when Stefan stopped him in the hallway.

"Can we talk?"

"Do we have to?" Damon pretended to complain.

"Yes. There was a woman you may have known a few years back named Isobel, in North Carolina at Duke."

"You wanna discuss the women of my past right now? Seriously?"

"You killed her."

"What's your point?" He'd killed a lot of people, so what was so important about this one?

"I just wanna know if you remember anything about her."

"It's like a needle in a haystack, Stefan."

"Well, think hard. It's important."

"Why is it important? Did you know her? Because I'm sure I've killed a lot of Isobels."

"Damon . . ." Stefan glowered at him. "Be helpful why don't you?"

"I don't feel like it. I've helped you once this week; that's my limit."

"I could always ask Rebecca to ask you," Stefan threatened. "Of course then I'd have to explain why I want to know, and that would lead to her learning about how you killed Isobel for no apparent reason. How do you think that would make her feel?"

Damon chose to ignore the little ripple of fear in his brain at that statement.

"Rebecca knows who I am, what I do. She cares anyway. That day I almost killed her, do you know how much she hated me for that? She didn't, at all. So this? I don't think it'll even register. I've killed before and she's forgiven me. So go ahead, tell her. It won't change anything."

He left Stefan behind to fume silently about the fact that Damon hadn't taken the bait about filling Rebecca in. But Rebecca wasn't as uptight as Elena. Rebecca accepted the entire package; she accepted the fact that he was a man and a vampire. And, as crazy as it was, she accepted the fact that he had killed people and would probably kill again because she couldn't have the man without also having the vampire that went along with him. Granted, she didn't like that he killed people - but, hey, he hadn't killed anybody in a long time - but she let him be himself.

Whatever himself was now; he sort of felt like every day he was changing. He was becoming what she needed him to be, but she never told him what that was exactly so she wasn't forcing the issue, he was learning on his own.

Rebecca got a call from Liz later that day. Some hiker had been attacked in the woods and his clothes had been stolen.

"His . . . clothes were stolen?" Rebecca asked. "That's a new one for me."

"And me," Liz sighed. "That wasn't the only reason I called. I need more people to help promote the bachelor raffle. Could you help Caroline put up signs and stuff?"

"When? I can help today and tomorrow." Rebecca felt sort of bad for not helping Bonnie but Bonnie hadn't said she needed it. Rebecca couldn't help if she didn't know what she was supposed to do.

"Great. It shouldn't take long. As long as everything is up by Friday we'll be great. Oh, and the next time you see Damon can you feel him in on the new vampire situation?"

"Sure, yeah."

"Thank you," Liz said sincerely.

"No problem."

So later that day Rebecca spent her time with Caroline putting up banners and flyers in town. Caroline told her that Matt's mom, Kelly Donovan, was back in Mystic Falls. She had caught Matt and Caroline making out on the couch, which Caroline said was embarrassing, and she was sure Mrs. Donovan didn't like her at all. It was no secret that Kelly didn't like Caroline's mom, so it wouldn't surprise Rebecca if Kelly transferred her feelings over to Caroline without giving her a chance.

"But other than Mrs. Donovan you and Matt are okay?"

"Yeah, we're great. I just hope his mom doesn't cause problems."

"He likes you too much to let his mom get in the way. I mean, who knows when she'll take off again. She never sticks around for long."

Caroline crossed her fingers and smiled. "Here's to hoping."

Rebecca held onto a ladder while Caroline climbed. They were in front of the Grill, hanging up a banner, and she was making Caroline do all the height stuff - mostly because Rebecca didn't feel like doing it herself.

They ran into Jenna and Mr. Saltzman that day; they'd been hassled into helping out, too. Mr. Saltzman even more so because he was one of the men being raffled off.

"I don't know, it's just weird. You know? Me being raffled off like a Disney cruise."

"In this town fundraising is like indentured servitude," Jenna explained. "You don't have a choice. And besides, you're a bachelor and you're eligible, so there you go."

Eligible, my ass, Rebecca thought. There were serious vibes going on between the two of them that was almost nauseating to watch. She hoped she and Damon didn't give off vibes like that.

"Come on, Care, let's give these two some privacy."

It hit Rebecca then that if . . . if this Isobel woman was Elena's birth mother then Alaric Saltzman would be Elena's step-father. Or sort of anyway. It was crazy like Elena had said; it couldn't be true.

"Have you heard from Bonnie?" Caroline asked.

"Not really. I know she's with her dad and they're planning a funeral for Sheila, but I haven't really talked to her exactly."

Aside from the very short conversation she'd had with Bonnie that morning, Rebecca hadn't been able to get in touch with her witch friend.

Rebecca did as Liz asked and told Damon about the new vampire problem. It had been kind of hard because he'd been trying to kiss her at the time, but she'd eventually gotten the words out.

Damon was not one to be distracted, however, because he had a one track mind at the moment. Damon loved sex and he wanted her every time he saw her. Rebecca didn't mind since it was enjoyable for her too. She was sure she loved it just as much as he did. She loved how it made her feel, how he took care of her, made sure she was enjoying it. She loved that, with just one look, he could make her feel wonderful and beautiful and whole. Damon didn't have to say a word; his eyes said it all, sometimes even when he didn't want them to.

His eyes told her he loved her even if he couldn't always say the words. And the knowledge that he did actually love her made it easier to give in whenever he wanted something. It made it harder to resist him in anything, which was bad because Rebecca knew Damon was not above taking advantage of that.

Damon looked up at Rebecca from his spot between her legs and smirked when he saw her lust-lidded eyes. He caressed her thighs and she opened her legs wider for him. He hadn't been lying when he'd first met her; she was fun to play with. Though he meant it in an entirely different way now.

He began nibbling on the spot his hands had just been and in between nips he said, "Did you know . . . if I bite you here, I can make you come . . . without even touching you?"

"No, I . . . I didn't know that."

Rebecca's voice was breathless and husky, and Damon knew that she was no longer thinking about anything but this, them, now. It had been one of his intentions - Rebecca could probably do guilt just as well as Stefan if she tried, and Damon didn't want her feeling guilty about something that wasn't her fault, because Sheila dying wasn't anyone's fault. Sheila had known what she was doing when she'd done it.

Rebecca moaned and it made him want to forget biting her and just get straight to the other part. But he didn't. What with Stefan's incessant questioning earlier in the day, he hadn't gotten to go out to find someone tasty after all.

It didn't matter, because Rebecca tasted better, anyway. And she was a willing donor; so much easier than having to hunt someone down and either kill them or compel them to forget. Besides, love-laced blood was sweeter than fear-laced blood.

So his face took on the appearance of the vampire and he gently slid his fangs into her flesh and began drinking. He had to hold her still because she began squirming beneath him. A quick glance up assured him that he wasn't hurting her, so he continued.

By the time he was done she was a mess of quivering limbs and he had to give her time to catch her breath before they got on to the main event.

Damon was glad that vampires - and humans, for that matter - couldn't die from sexual exhaustion, because they could both wear the other out. It was good for him, though, because he was usually filled with so much restless energy he didn't know what to do with himself.

After their daily session of love-making - exaggeration there; they didn't have sex every day - they both had needed sleep. Add in the blood he'd consumed from her and Damon would've described himself as lethargic.

He woke up a little bit before she did because his vampire senses had alerted him to the change in her heartbeat and breathing pattern. When her eyelids fluttered open she smiled up at him, still half asleep, but then the smile faded and she sat up, wrapping the sheet around herself out of modesty.

Damon could see it in her eyes; the real world had come back to her now. Sheila was gone and she wasn't coming back. That was the problem with humans; they died. There one day and gone the next.

"I have something to tell you, and I would've told you earlier, but we were a little . . . preoccupied."

"In that case, you're forgiven," he teased lightly. "Now, what's so important?"

Rebecca bit her lip as she tended to do when she was talking about something she didn't want to talk about.

"When I was inside the tomb I counted the vampires and Katherine wasn't in there. She never made it into the tomb. She got away."

Rebecca didn't know how Damon would react so she was treading carefully. Katherine had manipulated him, used him, and taken him away from Rebecca - even if it had only been for a short while.

"She's been out in the world making a nuisance of herself all this time?" he asked.

Damon didn't care one way or the other. Sure, he may have cared once - even though she had compelled him, he had loved her while she'd made him think that he did - but it was nothing compared to what he and Rebecca had; it didn't even come close.

"Yeah. Anna knew she wasn't in there. She realized I was counting, and then she told me. I don't know where she went and I don't know who helped her, but . . ."

"Oh. Well, as long as she doesn't come here, we're good." When he saw the relief in her eyes he chuckled. "What? Why were you walking on eggshells around that name?"

"I didn't know how you would react. I don't know how you feel about that now."

She expected him to make some comment about "feeling implies caring" but he didn't. What would be the point with her? He obviously cared about her - loved her - so he couldn't deny it.

"It was a long time ago."

"Yeah, but you hold on to things," Rebecca said softly.

"Well . . . I'm not a member of her fan club. We can put it that way. But I don't care that she got out. Survival instincts and all, I probably would've done the same thing."

"Okay."

Rebecca decided not to push. He would never hurt her for pushing - she knew that. But it didn't stop him from hurting someone else if he got pissed off.

"So what're you doing tomorrow?" Damon asked.

"Well, if Bonnie doesn't call me, then I'm helping Caroline with this thing, this charity thing."

"Oh, Blondie. Ever the convenient distraction," he quipped, and she hit him on the chest harder than necessary. He gave her a mock pained expression. "Ouch."

"You could be nicer to her. She kept you in fresh blood the first few weeks you were here. She put up with a lot from you and you traumatized her."

Damon shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I'm never nice if I can help it."

It was her turn to roll her eyes. "Whatever. I'm gonna go take a shower. And by the way, you treated her so bad that whenever I get hurt she thinks you did it."

She left him to think about that for a while. Or she tried to, but he appeared in front of her.

"What do you tell her?"

"That it's not you doing it. But, you know, that's what she said when it was her being hurt so who knows if she believes me."

Damon really hadn't thought about that, about what people would think about Rebecca being with someone like him. He knew she didn't really care, she was just giving him a hard time for mistreating one of her friends, but he didn't want people thinking Rebecca would stay with someone who was mistreating her. He couldn't stop her from getting hurt, though, because sometimes he couldn't be there when she had to fight.

Elena, Bonnie, and Stefan knew it wasn't him hurting Rebecca. And her family too, to a certain extent. But Caroline was completely clueless about Rebecca's life and extracurricular activities. All Caroline knew was that Rebecca was with him and that he had mistreated her when they'd been together, so of course she had no reason to believe it was any different with Rebecca.

The next day Caroline came over to Rebecca's house early. Bonnie had called to say she didn't need any help and that was about all she'd said. It was a desperate cry for help in Rebecca's opinion, but she would let her witch friend deal with it on her own. Unless Bonnie asked otherwise.

Rebecca watched Caroline put her makeup on and wondered why she was putting on makeup to help set up for a charity auction. Rebecca hadn't thought about it before she'd become a Slayer but she understood now why Caroline never wanted to be at home. The Forbes' had a huge house but Caroline was usually the only one ever in it. Liz was never home, always at work, never with Caroline. And the blonde's dad had moved after he'd come out of the closet. Rebecca thought that Caroline resented her mom because of her dad, that maybe if Liz had been a better wife then her dad would've stuck around.

The truth, though, was people were who they were. If they were gay, they were gay. It couldn't be helped. People were people. Sometimes Caroline had a hard time understanding that.

Caroline complained about not being able to help Bonnie and Rebecca agreed that it was weird that Bonnie didn't want their help. She hoped that Bonnie wasn't still trying to bring Sheila back with magic - there were so many things that could go wrong with that. She might make Grams a zombie or something.

After the two girls were done helping set up for the bachelor raffle thing Rebecca asked Caroline if she wanted to go shopping.

"You're asking me? When do I not want to go shopping?" Caroline asked, semi-serious.

"Well, it's not for us. It's for Chelsea and -"

"Oh!" Caroline almost squeaked. "Baby clothes! Yay!"

Rebecca giggled at her blond friend's antics. Caroline was such a fashionista.

Rebecca and Caroline went to pick up Chelsea from Rebecca's house and they took Caroline's car to Richmond to visit the Chesterfield Town Center. The best shopping mall that was anywhere near Mystic Falls. The reason Caroline had been asked was because Caroline would know where everything was and it wouldn't take as long to find what Rebecca wanted to get her sister.

The Sears was so big there that there was an escalator going to the second floor.

The first thing Rebecca got was a pretty red dress for Rebecca. There were a few events - Founder's Day events - coming up and Chelsea needed at least one new outfit for it. By that time Chelsea would hopefully be walking on her own so the dress would be amazingly cute on her baby sister.

The second thing Rebecca did was just purely for fun. She got Chelsea a faux leather jacket for $20. A pair of blue jeans and baby biker boots. Chelsea already had a white shirt to go with it.

"Aw!" Caroline said when she saw the finished product. "Damon will love it."

"I know," Rebecca said. "That's why I'm getting it."

"Something's missing, though."

"What?"

"Ray Bans," Caroline said. "You gotta complete the look."

Rebecca smiled and began going toward the accessories.

Meanwhile, back in Mystic Falls and at the Grill, Damon was having a few drinks. He hadn't had a good buzz in a long while. He didn't miss it when he was with Rebecca - she was his buzz when she was with him - but she wasn't going to be with him for the majority of the day so . . . hence the alcohol.

Mr. Saltzman - Alaric or something like that - was there, too, also drinking.

"Behold, the teacher. Don't you have some papers to grade?"

"It's, uh, more fun with a buzz."

"Well, most things in life are. Sober is . . . depressing."

"You don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed," the teacher said, looking at him.

"You say that like you know me."

"Nope. It's just a hunch." Alaric put his drink down and stood up. "You have yourself a good day."

"Not likely."

And seriously? Something was wrong with the new history teacher. He either knew about Damon or suspected, one or the other. Compulsion be damned. The history teacher . . . something was off about him, that was for sure.

Shortly after that, Liz came up to him. Of course she was in uniform. The woman never gave herself a day off.

"Daytime drinkin', huh?"

"It's all the rage."

"Listen, I need a favor."

Jeez, what vampire problem couldn't she take care of now?

"Look, there's a fundraiser here tomorrow night that the Founder's Council is throwing. The town's most eligible bachelors get raffled off for dates."

Ah. Damon could see where she was going with this and he also noticed how uncomfortable Liz's voice was. She obviously didn't want to ask him what she was going to ask him.

"And, well . . . we're short a bachelor."

Damon leaned in closer. "Is this what you do when there aren't any vampires? Organize bachelor raffles?"

The fact that he was making light of the situation seemed to ease her tension, and Damon was surprised that it made him feel better too. Ugh! He'd have to squish that or he'd end up emoting like Stefan.

"At this point, trust me, I miss the vampires," Liz said.

"Ah."

"Look, you're a hero to this town, Damon. I know most people don't know it, but you are."

He almost wanted to laugh. He was no hero. He killed people and, more often than not, he liked it. Killing was in his nature, it was who he was.

"And you're not married, and you're a catch." He didn't know if she was trying to butter him up or not, but either way she resorted to begging. "Oh, come on, help me out. Carol Lockwood won't let me live it down if I come up empty handed."

He looked at her pleading eyes and realized then that Elizabeth Forbes had obviously gotten under his skin, because he decided to give in, and only the people he cared about could get him to do that without a fight.

"You know . . . a room full of women clamoring to win a date with me? Sounds tasty."

Liz's body showed her relief; the tension just vanished. "Thank you."

"One thing," Damon said, catching her before she left. "Can you get information on someone for me? Alaric Saltzman, the history teacher. There's just something a little off about him and I just wanna make sure the high school did their homework on this guy."

Liz nodded, no questions asked. "You got it."

"Thanks."

Okay, so having connections was awesome. And he hadn't even had to threaten her. It was almost like they were two friends doing each other a favor. Liz wasn't so bad. A little married to her job, maybe, but she genuinely wanted to help this town. She'd been brought up the way he and Stefan had been. To think vampires were bad because they were vampires.

Wasn't her fault, really. It was just the way it was.

Later that same day Rebecca was with Stefan and Elena - Damon had been with them, but for some reason had been annoyed with Stefan and had left - in Elena's room at the Gilbert residence.

Elena had told Damon about finding her birth mother before he'd left but he hadn't seemed to care. He didn't even really understand the importance of finding someone who so obviously hadn't wanted Elena in the first place. Elena should have written her off as a lost cause and moved on.

"So, I went to see Trudie Peterson," Elena said. "I didn't plan it, it just sort of happened."

"How was it?" Stefan asked.

Rebecca's question was, "What did you find out?"

"She has vervain. She knows about vampires; it can't be a coincidence."

Rebecca looked at Stefan and, since she knew he would lie if he thought it would benefit Elena or protect Elena's feelings, she asked him bluntly how much he'd revealed to Elena about Alaric Saltzman.

"I know that he knows about vampires," Elena answered.

"Everything he knows about vampires, he learned from his wife," Stefan said. He looked at Elena sympathetically. "He thinks that she was killed by one."

"Oh my God," Elena said, in shock.

"That's why he came here?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes. He wants answers. He said they never found her body. But before she died . . . she was researching this town, so she knew."

"Well, she grew up in Grove Hill, so that makes sense."

Rebecca looked at Elena now with her usual scrutiny that she used with most people, like she was trying to figure them out.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Elena nodded but didn't say anything. She just sat on her bed and Stefan immediately went to her. And just as immediately, Rebecca felt she was intruding.

"Um . . . I'm gonna go now. I'm gonna go home and . . . Oh, yeah."

Stefan and Elena were in their own little world now anyway. And Stefan was so much better at the comforting thing that she was.

On the way home Rebecca realized she was being followed by Damon. She didn't let on that she knew at first but then she said, "You know I can feel you there, Damon."

He'd been in a weird mood and she didn't know why. It probably had something to do with Stefan - it usually did.

"Did you know that I am one of Mystic Fall's most eligible bachelors?" he asked, matching his pace with her.

"Bachelor?" Rebecca shook her head. "Really? Because I'd say you're pretty much spoken for."

"Yeah. Well, I'm doin' the sheriff a favor. Participating in the raffle."

"Hm."

Rebecca knew the drill for the raffle. Women bought tickets for the fundraiser, and all the money gained went towards the Founder Day celebration, which was held in February or March. The person whose ticket got picked got a bachelor for a date.

"Hm?" he asked. "What does 'hm' mean?"

"It's what I say when I have nothing else to say. What did you want me to say?"

"I don't know. I half thought I'd get an earful. 'No, you can't do that, you belong to me'," he put on a high pitched voice and smirked.

"Okay . . . One, I don't sound like that. Two: if I had said that, you would've done it anyway just to spite me. Three, you belong with me. Not to me. There's a difference. I mean, you're not a piece of real estate."

Rebecca had to admit that, yes, she had a possessive streak when it came to Damon, but not over this. This was a fundraiser and it didn't mean anything. Then it hit her. Damon Salvatore was helping with a fundraiser . . . as a favor.

"Huh."

"I didn't even say anything this time," Damon said. "What's goin' on in that pretty little head of yours?"

"Nothing."

"Sure."

"I can't tell you because you'll just deny it."

Rebecca didn't elaborate, but she didn't have to. Damon instinctively knew what she meant. It seemed he was helping without a motive for doing so and, if he was being completely honest with himself, it had started out that way. Asking Liz to investigate the teacher had been a last minute decision.

Damon was well aware that he was to blame for some of the chaos in Rebecca's life. Vicki, Lexi, her friends alienating her at one time - just to name a few things. But he was grateful for the way Rebecca had stuck by him. He and Rebecca had a powerful friendship even without the other stuff.

Damon had stability in his life now - sort of, for the most part - and direction since he'd found Rebecca again. And Rebecca was more confident now, but he wasn't sure he could take credit for that or if that was just the Slayer in her.

"I can do something nice every once in a while," he stated. "Let's not make a big deal out of it."

"I'm not. I just . . . don't expect it and so it surprises me. You're so unpredictable, I never know from one second to the next what you're gonna do. It's one of the things I like about you best, even if it can be . . . infuriating sometimes."

"Hm." Damon grew serious for a moment. "Why're you walking home?"

"Uh . . . because I walked to Elena's?" Rebecca shrugged. "It's two minutes away."

"Yeah, well, it's nighttime, and walking around Mystic Falls after dark can be an extreme sport."

"Yeah, well, I have to patrol sometime, and nighttime is usually when the vampires like to play."

"So that explains the come-bite-me outfit."

Rebecca had on low-rider jeans that showed her hip bones, a shirt that showed her belly button, and boots - and it was nearing the end of December. The half jacket didn't help any against the cold winter air but she wore it nonetheless.

Damon found it sexy as hell, and his eyes lingered over her longer than was completely necessary. Rebecca, however, felt as though she were masquerading as a prostitute.

"If you're going to be doing this a lot, we're gonna have to find you a car, Becca."

"I don't need a car, Damon. I can't ride around town to find vampires."

"I don't like you going around town looking for vampires, period," Damon said. "Besides, the car wouldn't only be for finding vampires. There are other, more fun, things, we could do in a car."

Rebecca breath hitched and his insinuation. "Oh? Do tell . . ."

Damon smirked and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer. His hand slid over her bare stomach and she shivered against his touch.

"Damon! We're outside. I said tell, not show!"

They ended up at a seedy place in downtown Mystic Falls, and the first thing Damon did was get himself a drink, leaving her to try and home her radar. Which would have been easier if a guy hadn't come up to her the second she was alone.

"Well, hey there." He was a big brute of a man and he smelled like cheap whiskey. She knew the difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff thanks to Damon's fascination with bourbon.

She mostly ignored the man other than to smile politely his way. She wasn't here to socialize and, even if she had been, it wouldn't have been with someone who came onto her like that. God, what being a Slayer entailed. She was having to put up with this moron who seemed like he'd taken one too many steroids.

"Hello, I'm talking to you."

She looked at him now and said, "I'm not interested, okay?"

The guy grabbed her arm hard enough to make her flinch. "Attitude problem, serious. Guys around her don't dig that. Maybe you should apologize."

Rebecca wasn't sure she'd heard him right. She was the one with attitude? Really? Boy, was he lucky he was human or she would've hit him. She couldn't let loose on a human because she'd likely kill him.

"I'm not walking away without one."

Damon was suddenly there, nose to nose with the ass that was just begging to be killed.

"Then maybe you're not walking away," he said.

Damon had been at the bar, and he'd been fine until the guy had grabbed Rebecca. Guys coming onto her he'd have to deal with. She was beautiful so it was to be expected. But her being manhandled like she was a piece of ass was not something he'd allow himself to get used to.

The guy was human and Damon knew Rebecca wouldn't hurt him unless she absolutely had to, but Damon . . . Damon didn't care if the guy got hurt or not. He probably even deserved it. And the guy was a coward. Faced with someone who wasn't a girl, he hesitated and decided to slink back into the crowd in the building.

"Thanks," Rebecca said softly, rubbing the spot the guy had been grasping.

There was a red hand-print there. Damon felt like finding the guy and leaving a mark of his own.

"Becca, you don't belong in a place like this," Damon said, pulling her close to him. "Girls like you don't come to places like this. Promise me you won't come here by yourself. Ever."

"I won't come here by myself. I wouldn't have come here tonight if you hadn't been with me."

"Good."

While Rebecca was taking in the people around her - only one of them was a vampire and he was keeping to himself and not bothering a soul - Damon had more than one drink and he ended up bar dancing. Rebecca had a lunatic for a boyfriend - Damon wasn't completely drunk and he was still outgoing and willing to do things like that.

She laughed, forgetting all the drama in her life. When she was with Damon it didn't matter that Elena was having problems with the adoption, and it didn't matter that Rebecca thought that maybe Bonnie was mad at her. Things were right, here with Damon. Things where how they should be.

Okay, so here's the new update. Hope you guys enjoyed it. I have a few surprises coming up in the next few chapters, so . . . anticipate! LOL

Review please. Let me know what's good or what needs improvement and whatnot.